Seth O'Malley
by DreamWeaver010
Summary: Seth, like all of his siblings, has a rather unique job. His most recent assignment? Protect a woman who doesn’t want to be protected.
1. The Assignment: Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the O'Malley Series. 

------

_**Prologue –The Assignment**_

**--------- **

**SETH O'MALLEY**

**Age:** 37

**Gender:** male

**Height:** 5ft 8 in

**Weight:** 121 lbs

**Body Type:** slender and rigid

**Face Type:** narrow and defined

**Complexion:** tanned

**Eyes:** bright dark blue

**Hair:** brown

**Clothing Style:** pants and sleeveless shirts, his working uniform

**Speaking Style:** tends to stumble when he's trying to make someone understand what's in his head

**General Demeanor:** Seth is one who expects others to obey his commands on the spot. He is not used to being told what to do or having others not listen. He takes his work very seriously and refuses to let emotion show, even though he has so many.

**Career:** body guard

**Prejudices:** slow drivers, numbskulls and head-strong women

**Best Qualities:** patient, knowledgeable, semi-understanding

**Worst Qualities:** quick to judgment

**Weaknesses:** children

**Hobbies:** hunting

**Talents:** smarts enough to stay alive with his current job.

**Side Notes:**

Seth was orphaned after witnessing the murder of his mother. His father had died when he was a baby from cancer.

He has done his best to avoid females since his mother's death, as 1: he's shy and 2: their presence tends to bring back memories of his mother.

------

Seth O'Malley walked the length of his bother's farm. It was huge, really, compared to the city he'd lived in for a while. Stephen raised an eyebrow at Seth's silence.

"Spill, it, big brother," Stephen said as they rounded the pond that extended past the neighbor's property line.

"Spill what?"

"You've found a girl,"

"No!" Seth stopped walking. "What makes you say that?"

"Because the rest of us O'Malley boys have,"

"Your point being?"

"You're missing out," Stephen teased. Seth shook his head.

"With my line of work, and you think I need a woman prying into my business?"

"It is kinda nice,"

Seth laughed. "Maybe for you—"

"And Marcus,"

"And Marcus, but—"

"And Jack,"

"And Marcus, and Jack and you, but not necessarily for me,"

"So, what's her name?" Stephen held his chuckle under his ear to ear smile.

"It's a business relationship, okay? Nothing more. Some guy who's been stalking her recently tried to attack her,"

"She fought back?"

"And nearly broke her wrist, yes,"

"And her name?"

"I'm assigned to protect her, as long as the guy is out there. Won't be easy; she doesn't like to stay inside,"

"Her name?"

"I'm not sure what to do about—"

"Seth, what is her name!" Stephen stopped in front of him. Seth blinked twice.

"Whitney,"

"Ah, finally, an answer. Description?"

"Dark brown hair, same shade of eyes, serious farmer's tan and a will of steel,"

"When do we get to meet her?"

"It's unlikely that you will,"

"Why's that?"

"She's not supposed to leave her property,"

----------------

"Where is she!"

"She was in here, sir,"

"Not this, not now," Seth mumbled as he pulled out his radio and keyed in for an area search to be conducted.

He was searching the bushes when a voice over the radio confirm that she'd been found. Seth stood and walked to the east side of the house as she was led from the woodland path on her painted stallion, Fire.

"Whitney, what are you doing?"

"Riding," she said as she slid down and patted Fire's neck. "Good boy," she cooed, ignoring the scowl on Seth's face.

"You're not supposed to leave the house without an escort," he reminded her. She glared at him as she led Fire to the stables. He watched her walk away, then ran to catch up, walking on the other side of Fire.

"Whitney,"

"Yes, Seth?"

"Could you try to corporate more, please? It's hard enough to keep you inside--"

"I didn't ask for someone to keep me inside. You can all go home, and I will be fine,"

"Not likely. Besides, your father paid for this security. We're here till he pulls the plug on the operation."

"Then I guess I have a phone call to make," she said.

"Whitney," he stopped her. Fire tried to bit his hand, but she placed a gentle hand on his mouth and looked the big creature in the eye and he seemed to yield to that gaze. "Don't take what happen lightly. You are in danger, and that calls for precautions. Think about it before you down your father's efforts to protect you,"

"I understand that, Seth. But I can't live without risks,"

"You won't live with risks like this out there,"

"If you intend on staying, then we will have to make a few agreement,"

"I'm fine with that," he gave in, giving up some of his authority in the matter.

"First of all, I do not want to cause some huge crises by going riding,"

"We can lay out a path and time," he suggested. She nodded.

"And you should know... I'm rather forward. I tend to force people to be friends with me,"

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see," she started walking again. Fire was glad for the opportunity to bump him. Seth sighed and headed back to the house. He sat at the table with the security grid layout in front of him and marked out the riding path. He planned on having a few men along the area when she went, just to be safe. He was working out how long it'd take her—rather how long he'd give her—when his phone rang. He sighed and flipped it open without looking to see who it was.

"Stephen said you have a new assignment?" Kate asked. Seth shook his head.

"Trust him to keep a secret,"

"In this family? Never. Now tell me, Seth."

"Typical stalker case,"

"How long do you figure?"

"I don't know, really. It could take a while,"

"Is she cooperating?"

"No, not really,"

"Are you being a bully?"

"Me? Come on, Kate,"

"Seth, I'm serious, you are a bit of a bully. Your way or no way at all,"

"It's for her safety," he said, knowing by the muffled sounds on the other end that she was talking to her husband Dave, not listening to him. He thought he heard Holly crying too. Seth's niece was three months old now... and she cried _so_ much. It was supposedly in her nature...

"I have to go; Holly is awake,"

"Be safe, Kate,"

"You too, Bully," he shook his head as he hung up. He turned around and found Whitney leaning over the table he'd absentmindedly walked away from during his conversation. When he joined her, he saw that she was re-writing the riding boundaries he'd set to include the waterfall.

"Whitney, that's too much area to cover,"

"You're covering it with your little men? Why?"

"Because the woods are a perfect place for the stalker to hide,"

"These woods are also my territory. I know them well enough to walk through the 10 miles of forest and not get lost,"

"Well, that's impressive, but it's not--" he was totally stunned that she'd just kissed him. She leaned back and smiled a satisfied grin at his surprise.

"Have a little more faith," she walked away. He leaned over the table and shook his head...


	2. Dreams: Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the O'Malley Series 

------

_**Dreams—Chapter 1**_

Seth turned in his bed with a moan. Beads of sweat trailed his face. His fists were doubled up around handfuls of the cover. He moaned again.

"Mama...Mama..." He shook his head in a negative gesture. He looked almost in pain.

Whitney placed a cool cloth over his forehead, then sat back down on the chair she'd pulled to the bed. It was nearly four in the morning. He'd been at this for nearly an hour now, and it wasn't the first time.

It had been about a week since Seth and his group had appeared on her door, saying they had orders from her father to protect her. She hadn't liked it at all, but she had soon discovered that Seth was immovable. Why he would want to put up with her was anyone's guess, but he did. She'd had a hard time with making him be her friend, too. He almost seemed annoyed with her when she tried. She didn't blame him, not everyone wanted to be her friend. But she didn't care. After the adolescence she had suffered, a problem like Seth O'Malley was not going to stop her from keeping her childhood promise: friends were important to her, and she was not going to let anyone who could be a friend slip through her fingers.

Seth bolted up right. His hand shot out and grasped her neck in a choking grip. Her hands instinctively flew to his hand. His eyes opened slowly, revealing the left over pain from his nightmare. He stared at her with unseeing eyes for a long moment, his strong hand slowly constricting her air supply. Her head felt light and dizzy by the time he realized what he was doing. His eyes quickly lost their coldness and darted around to assess the situation.

He suddenly let go.

She dragged in a long breath, trying not to cough. She did anyway. Seth only stared at her until she had recovered. He was still breathing rapidly. His eyes searched her face as if he didn't recognize her.

"Seth?"

"...I'm sorry... I didn't..."

"It's okay." she said softly. "Do you... want to talk about it?"

He shook his head. "No." the word was so final. "I'm fine," he said as his head dropped and his chin touched his bare chest.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm fine," He looked at the clock on the headboard. It said 4:28 am. "Go back to bed, Whitney."

She put a hand on his chest and gently pushed him back to the pillow. She took the cover and pulled it back around his shoulders and kissed his forehead as she took the cloth that had fallen from his head. Her hand slid slowly off his cheek.

He thought she would say something, anything, but she didn't. And the click the door made was the final sound before the night's lullaby returned.

----------

The smell of bacon and eggs and coffee filled the air as Seth trudged down the stairs from his bedroom. The sound of something sizzling filled the air and flowed with the enticing smells toward him, beckoning him to the kitchen. Whitney's house was an old farm house, and huge, really. He was still amazed that she lived in it by herself most of the time. Sure, her two farm hands, Yuri and Wind, lived in the house, but they were serious workers and neither was good company, especially for someone as...what was the word... innocent? outgoing? as Whitney.

Seth rounded the corner and found Whitney with her back turned to him as she fiddled with things on the stovetop and counters. There were four plates laid out on the table, each having eggs and bacon already.

She turned abruptly, smiling as she saw him. "Good morning,"

"Morning," he said. She walked to the table, maybe eight steps from the stove and dished out biscuits, two for each plate from her cookie sheet.

"You hungry?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Take your pick," she indicated the plates. "Milk is in the fridge and the sausages are almost finished."

Seth poured two glasses full of the milk and brought them both to the table as she dished out the sausage to each plate. Whitney turned her back once more and Seth wondered what he had forgotten. She produced a jug of orange juice from the fridge. Holding it up, she asked silently if he wanted any. Seth shook his head no. She brought a small glass of the orange liquid to the table and he sat down beside her.

Seth picked up his fork and prepared to attack the delicious looking food when Whintey caught his wrist.

"Blessing first," she said sweetly.

Seth lost the shred of happiness he had found when he had woken. The unexpected peace he had felt, despite what had happened the night before, was gone.

"Well, close your eyes and fold your hands."

"I'm not one for praying."

"Close your eyes," she commanded as she folded his hands in front of him. He scowled at her as she proceeded to say the blessing, her head bowed and her hands covering his. He never closed his eyes.

"...Amen," she looked up at him, her eyes smiling, waiting for him to comply. A long minute stretched into another. Whitney removed her hands and picked up her fork. It was several minutes before Seth remembered his hunger and followed her lead.

Not 10 minutes after they had started, Yuri and Wind came to join them.

"Have you talked to your father about all this security?" Yuri asked. He shot a glance at Seth, making his position known.

"Yes." Whitney said. "He says it's for my own good."

"Shouldn't you be the judge of that?" Yuri asked.

"You would think so, huh? But he won't withdrawal them." she said with a sigh. "There's really nothing I can do... he is my father, after all."

Yuri refrained from arguing any more. He and Wind left some 20 minutes after they had arrived, cleaning their plates in the dish water, drying them and putting them away.

Whitney stood to take care of the little remaining work in the kitchen; she had the two of them trained well. Seth picked up his plate and took it to the water to wash it. As she put things away and he dried, their elbows bumped. Whitney spared a brief glance at their elbows, still close, and then at his face, before she turned back to what she was doing. Seth put his plate down swiftly and caught her elbow. She turned back and looked questioningly at him.

"I'm sorry about last night," he said. He had seen during breakfast that he'd bruised her neck. It was why she was wearing a shirt with a collar; something he gathered she disliked.

She shook her head. "It's alright."

"Not really," he said as he reached out to her and tucked the collar down to expose a mild bruise. He gulped; he couldn't remember ever hurting anyone who had just tried to help him.

"I'm fine, Seth,"

He made a silent promise to make it up to her. Why he didn't tell her he would, he didn't know. But he gave a hard, slow nod and went back to what he had been doing.

Whitney had 2 points over him now: the mere sight of her made him feel funny and the bruise.

------------

**goblz:** thank you for your review. I added another sibling because Dee Henderson very efficiently ended the epics of the other siblings in the series. I think that's also why there are so few O'Malley fan fictions. As far as an intro to Seth, I'll update the Prologue chapter with it.

I would also greatly appreciate any ideas you may have as far as the course for this story.

**potostfbeyeluvr:** Thank you very much for your review. I am updating the Prologue with an introduction to Seth. 

I would greatly appreciate it if any of you would let me know that the profile for Seth is sufficient. As always, I welcome comments and enjoy ideas for the story.


	3. Meddling Siblings: Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the O'Malley Series 

------

**_Meddling Siblings... –Chapter 2_**

**_Author's Note: _**For simplicity's sake, I'm going to set up this fan fiction with all of the O'Malleys in the same area. I know that's not true to the books, and I am sorry that I don't have the reserves to accept the challenge of varied locations for each sibling.

Seth was working out the last details for Whitney's riding route that afternoon. The sun was already setting and the heat that had plagued his men all day was finally letting up. The stable where Fire and Whitt's other horses were kept was to his left. Yuri came from inside to the water pump with a bucket. He swiftly filled it then disappeared back into the shade inside the structure. Yuri and Wind had functioned as if the heat had been non-existent that day. Seth envied them the ability since he had had to get ice water and shade several times during the course of the day to keep from fainting.

He was still unease about how the morning had gone. Whitney hadn't spoken to him since their little talk about the bruise over the dishes that morning.

Seth tried to stop a heavy, heart-felt sigh, and failed. A hand came down firmly on his shoulder and he turned.

"You look tired." Jack O'Malley said. "And sun burnt."

"Thanks," he said, turning slightly to hand the pad of paper back to John, his assistant. The thought struck Seth to wonder how Jack had found out where Whitney's farm was in the first place. Fatigue was setting in and the wonderment didn't last. Turning to give Jack his full attention, he noted that Cassie, Jack's wife, was not with him.

"She was napping and I was house burnt." Jack explained.

"Since when do you have the ability to read minds?"

"Since your thoughts began showing on your face." His brother studied him for a minute. "Haggard would be a better word."

Seth only nodded.

"Are you going to introduce me to your new assignment or do I have to hunt her down and do it myself?" Jack asked.

Seth thought about that for a few seconds. "I don't really know where she is."

Jack raised an eyebrow.

"I mean that—that, well, my men know where—"

"You've had a fight with her already?"

"No... Yes... but that's not what this is—"

"What 'what' is about? The fact that you don't know where she is and you're supposed to be her body guard?"

Seth was silent. Then he took the radio from his belt and in code, asked where she was. The reply came back, also in code, and Jack waited for the interpretation.

"She's in the house." Seth led the way across the barnyard, ignoring the stares from Wind, through the back yard and onto the back porch. His hand was on the screen doorknob when he stopped. Whitney was talking to someone. He put his hand out at Jack without looking back and moved to the left to see in through the door. Whitney was on the phone.

"No! ...Honestly, that's not your concern...No, you're not. Since you—" She paused. Seth could only see part of her face, but even then, he saw that she was frowning. "You need help, Aaron. You need help."

Seth had heard enough. He pushed the door open. She turned to face him, shock on her face as if she's been caught red-handed at something she knew was wrong. Seth closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye and gently but forcibly took the phone from her hand.

She'd already ended the call.

He looked back up at her. Her eyes took on a rebellious shine.

"Aaron?" He asked.

"An old friend."

"How old? How much of a friend?" Seth asked, placing the phone on the table. He never broke eye contact.

"Just an old... beau..."

He lifted her chin with his forefinger. "Whitney."

She looked away from him with a slight sigh. "I don't want to talk about him."

Jack, whom Seth had forgotten about, shoved his way between the two, and straight to Whitney's rescue.

"My name's Jack," He took her hand in a friendly shake.

Seth glared at his brother, and then threw a glance at Whitney that stated Jack had not ended the topic but for the moment.

"Whitney," she returned too quickly.

"Seth has been... agreeable?"

"As agreeable as one can be under the present circumstances."

"Ahh, well." Jack paused and the look on his face seemed to indicate he was searching for a topic. "I'm told you have several horses?"

"Yes."

Jack extended his arm and she took it hesitantly. Seth watched as Jack allowed Whitney to lead him out and down to the barn.

-------------

_Ring... Ring... Ring..._ Seth took the phone from his belt and flipped it open without looking at who was on the other end. He jammed it against his shoulder and continued fiddling with the security beam device.

"Seth?"

Seth didn't answer.

"Seth?"

"Yeah?" he mumbled, his attention still on the device.

"Put down whatever you're doing, little brother."

"What? Yeah, in a minute... What'd you need, Marcus?"

"Kate says you're bullying your new assignment."

"She exaggerated."

"Really? I find that hard to believe."

"Believe it."

"Shari and I are coming over."

"Why?"

"Just to check things out."

"Marcus—"

"You sound over-protective to me."

Seth had never been accused of being over-protective. "Uhh..."

"Yeah, that's what I figured."

_**-----------**_

**potostfbeyeluvr, jilyn90, Tammi, stephannie teresa, TAMMI,** thank you all for your reviews! jilyn90, to answer your Q, yes, this fan fiction is based on Dee Henderson's O'Malley series. I myself loved the books._**  
**_


	4. Surprise, Surprise: Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the O'Malley Series 

------

**_Surprise, Surprise--Chapter 3_**

The Next Day...

Seth felt guilty. But she'd left the books on the table in plain sight. Three were spiral bound and four were title-less books. Seth picked up one of the spiral bound pads.

It was a sketch journal. He opened it and the first picture he came to took his breath away. It was a sketch of the sun setting over a hill. The simple beauty and tranquility of the evident pencil strokes was brilliant. The drawing looked 3d. He flipped a page. The next sketch was a colt. It was reddish and small, cradled in the corner of a barn in a mess of straw. In beautiful script in the upper right hand corner was scribbled,

_Fire_

The date the picture was drawn was under it. A sketch of Fire when he was a colt, nearly 6 years ago. Whitney had been 27 when she'd drawn it. Seth flipped back to the first sketch he'd looked at. The date on that one was only about a week prior the one of Fire.

Seth closed it back. So she was an artist. He placed it back on the table and picked up one of the books. He opened it in the middle.

It was a journal. Whitney's journal. He recognized her flowing handwriting.

He turned it back to the beginning. It was from when she was 21.

Seth had hit the jack-pot. In this diary and in the others on the table, he might be able to find out who was stalking her. And who this Aaron was. Who knew how many more journals there were?

He flipped through slowly yet hastily, realizing that if she came in to find him snooping... No. He was looking into possible information. And besides, she'd gone to prepare Fire and Rose Marie for a ride through the woods. She'd be a while.

He stopped when he saw the name. Aaron. It was dated early May.

_Aaron hit me again. I didn't call him when I got home yesterday. He said he was worried to death about me. . . _

The screen door opened. Seth dropped the book back on the table. The screen door opened into the den; whoever had come through it wouldn't have been able to see him as he had been on the far side.

Seth let his breath out when he saw Marcus and Shari standing there in the den.

"How many people are here, anyway?" Marcus asked.

"Not many. Did the guards give you a hard time? They shouldn't have; I told them you were coming."

"No." Marcus said.

"So..." Shari, who was hanging on Marcus's arm, said. "Where's Whitney?"

------------

Whitney didn't mean to be rude or anything. She watched Seth lead his brother and the brother's wife out of the house, through the front. She just wanted to be alone for the moment. Seth would find her in minutes. The guy who'd followed her all day had been discreet, but she'd known where he was at all times, she was that contentious. She slipped into the house through the back screen door while their backs were turned and headed down the hall.

Her door was open and she'd left it closed. Made sure it was closed, in fact.

She shoved it open the rest of the way and walked slowly around the bed, checking to see if anything was out of place.

Wind wouldn't go in her room. Neither would Yuri. They both respected her privacy. The thought that Seth could have been in her room snooping turned her stomach.

Whether it had been Seth or Wind or Yuri, or not, someone had been in her room.

She stopped at the dresser. A plain piece of folded up paper was there. She picked it up and gingerly unfolded it, aware of the fact that Seth would come through the door any minute.

_Soon, sweetheart, we will hunt. _

Whitney could have cried. Not again. No more

She could hear Seth approaching her room over her heavy breathing. She folded the note and shoved it into her pocket.

She turned to face the door just as he appeared in it.

"Whitney, are you alright?" He walked on into the room and stopped in front of her. Whitney could see the brother behind Seth.

"Whitney?" Seth repeated.

She ran her tongue over her lips since they'd gone dry. "Yeah, I'm fine." She mumbled. His eyes traveled down her arm, to her hand that was still in her pocket.

He reached down and pulled her hand out gently by the wrist. Since her hand was empty, he reached into her pocket.

Seth gingerly unfolded the paper. He read it slowly once, then twice over swiftly. He looked up and saw the tears in her eyes.

"What is this?" he asked in a whisper. "What does "we will hunt" mean? ...Whitney?"

Instead of answering she looked away from him.

"Seth," Seth turned. "Don't push her," Marcus said.

Seth's radio on his belt came on and a coded message came threw. Seth's face registered surprise as he unclipped it.

A door, the front, Whitney thought, slammed open. "Whitney?"

It was Wind. "The security guys won't let Jesse onto the ranch!" he said as he came to the door.

Seth started to walk out of the room when Whitney caught his arm. He turned and looked at her.

"There's an intruder; I have to go see to it."

"Jesse is my brother." Whitney said.

"You have a brother? Why wasn't I told this before?"

"I don't know." Whitney said. She started out ahead of him to the outside. Seth only followed her. She stepped out onto the porch and looked around, unsure of where they had him.

"The drive, near the mill," Seth said, stepping around her. The mill was on the other side of the ranch, and not in current use. Whitney caught up to Seth and together, in silence, they walked swiftly.

When Whitney could see the six figures surrounding her brother, she broke out into a run the rest of the way. They moved out of her way and she caught Jesse in a hug.

He was fifteen, strong, cute with the family's legendary careless streak. He had dull red hair that curled no matter how much gel he put on it, and the resemblance to Whitney was unmistakable.

Before even looking at the boy, Seth checked in whispered voices with his men and dismissed them back to what they'd been doing.

"...I came home early because I was getting bored."

"'Bored'? You, no way! I don't believe it!" Whitney said, ruffling his hair.

"Believe it. Max _and_ Beth had already gone home; Max because he got sick and Beth because she wanted to keep Max company."

Seth cleared his throat. "Whitney,"

She turned. "Jesse, this is Seth," she said politely. "He's the head of the security. Seth, my baby brother, Jesse,"

Jesse offered his hand and Seth shook it. An odd silence stretched.

"I'm hungry."

"Well, let's go find something," Whitney said. "Then I guess we should give your siblings a tour, hmm?"

She nodded and fell into step with them back to the house.

"You visit your sister often, Jesse?"

"I live with Whitt."

Seth stopped. What? Oh, no... Now he had to refigure everything to include a teenager!

----------

I am so sorry it has taken me so long. The email alert that told me about reviews and such have stopped coming and I was under the impression had gone suddenly quite. I'm behind in a lot of things.

**Tammi** and** Karmen Krowe**, thank you so much for your reviews! In having Seth's siblings all jump on him to met Whitt, I was trying to demonstrate their closeness. It might have gone a bit fast, though, I do admit that. I think I might hate pretense, though, because I'm told I go to fast a lot. Thank you both!

I would also like to direct you to my O'Malley forum. It doesn't show up in the Book category and I can't figure out why. However, if you click my profile page, then 'my forums' you should find it. It's fairly self explanatory.


	5. Let’s Talk: Chapter 4

This is a short chapter, I know, and I promise that the next one will be longer to make up for it. **kate **and** TAMMI**, thank you both so much for your reviews!

---------------------

_**Let's Talk—Chapter 4**_

"Talk to me, Whitney."

Whitney only continued to scribble something down in her notebook.

"Whitney, I want to know who Aaron is. I want to know what you know about that note; you reacted too horrified to it to not know anything about it or what it meant. And thirdly, I want to know why you never told me that your teenage brother lives here and not with your dad."

"Seth—"

"Tell me."

She put her pen down and picked up her coffee mug, reared back in her chair and stared at him. "Aaron is an old boyfriend; I told you that already."

"Why does he need help?"

She lost her determined look and blinked, looking away. "Because he does. His sickness doesn't have anything to do with the stalker."

"How would you know?" Seth bit back as the realization hit him. She knew what they were dealing with; she knew who the stalker was. He'd taken this assignment with no clue of who the stalker was, but she knew.

"Because he's not the..." And she had caught on a second too late.

All other matters aside, Seth shoved a chair from the table and sat next to her. "Tell me who he is, Whitney. Please, tell me. Is he the one who left the note, or was that Aaron?"

"I told you; it's not Aaron."

"Then it's someone you know. Someone you know well; someone who knows the ranch well."

She was silent.

He leaned so close to her so that she could feel his breath on her face. "What is Aaron to you? Why are you protecting him?"

"I don't like you prying into my personal life like this, Seth."

She was acting differently. When he'd first come here, she'd been happy and almost annoyingly optimistic. She'd even be so bold as to kiss him. He suppressed an urge to touch his lips at the memory; it was special to him. But now, she acted closed-up in herself. Whatever this was, it was becoming serious. She couldn't not look it in the face anymore.

That note was probably what had triggered it.

She stood abruptly and walked to the door. Seth caught her arm and she turned back to face him, but only slightly.

"I'm trying to help, Whitt. Don't make this any harder then it has to be, please."

After a second, she lifted her head and gave him a slow nod, a sad smile touching her lips. Then she walked out and Seth watched her go. It was going to get dark soon.

"What did you say to her?"

Seth turned. Jesse was standing in the doorway from the hall. He'd been in the shower and he was only wearing a pair of shorts, his hair still wet but not dripping.

"I asked some... difficult questions."

"You need to leave her alone; she's been through a lot."

"Is that so?"

Much as Seth hated it, he might just have to use Jesse to get the answers he needed.

----------

Whitney continued to brush Fire down. She was tired and the sun had started to set. "He doesn't know what he's asking, right, boy?" she mumbled to the horse. Fire snorted as the answer. "I wish he'd go away sometimes. But he makes me feel so..._different_. I'm almost afraid to feel _different_ again."

She laid her head on the horse's neck. "Let's go riding," she mumbled.

Seth hadn't said she could; his little men wouldn't know to watch her closely. Good. She brought Fire from his stall, and climbed up. She didn't ride bareback often, but she wanted to now.

Giving Fire his head, she let the horse gallop out into the woods, out along the path. She let her hair, which had been pulled back in a loose knot, come undone.

An Hour Later...

Seth was waiting for her when she came back. She could see him as she rode back into the ranch. He was standing with his hands on his hips, radio in hand. He raised it to his mouth and mumbled something she didn't hear and started to walk toward her. She turned to head for the stable, to Seth's left. He turned and met her as she was dismounting. He held Fire's reins and spread his arms, blocking her from walking away from him and nearly pinning her to the horse.

His face was so grim, so... emotionless that she looked away.

He wasn't happy at all. He'd been in the middle of a background check on Aaron when John had told him that Whitney had vanished into the woods with Fire, without an escort, and without telling anyone.

"So?"

Her small voice dragged him from his anger. "'So' what?"

"So, aren't you going to yell at me? Tell me that I can't go anywhere?"

"I've never yelled at you, Whitney. And, no, you're not allowed to leave the house without an escort."

Her hand came down on his and she tried to gently pry the reins from his hands. He wouldn't let go. Her face turned back up to his.

He kissed her.

It was a long, not-so-gentle kiss that made her want to cry.

He pulled away. _"I was worried sick about you."_ he whispered in a low, fierce voice.

She looked at him for a few seconds, then mumbled a tear-jerking, "I'm sorry,"

Taking a deep breath, he reached up and rubbed her cheek. "It's okay,"

Whitney realized then that for some bizarre reason, Seth had become attached to her. She didn't know why, couldn't have guessed if her life depended on it. Had he felt the same strange surge of feeling when they'd first met, too? She wasn't sure, but it seemed more likely now then not.

He handed her the reins. "Don't stay out too long; it's cold." He let his hand slid from hers and turned to walk back to the house. She waited until he was inside before she moved her feet to stable Fire.


	6. The Sketch: Chapter 5

_**The Sketch—Chapter 5**_

Whitney smiled as she finished sketching Seth. It was only a little after sunrise, the light coming in from the open window just enough for her to see enough to trace her pencil along the paper. He was tousled, shirt off, the sheets twisted around him. His chest rose and fell slowly in rhythmic sleep. Since that kiss the night before, she'd been looking for a way to evasively flirt with him. Thanks to Jesse, she now had it. Drawing, sketching, painting had always interested her, but she had never had a subject quite like Seth before. Never anything like him at all in fact.

He shifted, ruining the position she was sketching. She was basically finished with it anyway. Putting on the last details, she stood from the chair and closed the door behind her as he stirred.

Seth opened his eyes a second too late. The door was already closed. He frowned, then stood. Pulling his shirt back on, he realized that the chair that was next to the small round table wasn't tucked away in the corner anymore. A simple touch of it told him it was warm; someone had been watching him. It was too early for Yuri or Wind to be up, wasn't it? And teenagers always sleep till noon? He opened the door back, his heart quickening.

Had Whitney's stalker been watching in his room? Why? He couldn't know, but the mere fact that _someone_ had been there, and he didn't know who that someone was, sent adrenaline straight through his system. He stepped quietly from the room and down the hall. He gently shoved open the door next to his. Jesse was still in bed. He didn't dare inspect the others, though, so he moved back down the hall and into the living room. It was empty. As was the kitchen. The back door was open, though, the screen door the only barrier, letting in a bit of breeze.

Whitney still hadn't put away her notebooks and journals; they were still scattered on the kitchen table. Walking past them to the screen door, he saw Whitney in the barn, tossing a bale of hay. He frowned again and stepped back out of her view, then headed back to his room for his shoes.

And stopped.

There, on the top of the pile of books and sketch journals, was a sketch of...him. Seth stared at the sketch. The date was today. The window behind the bed he was tangled in told him the angle from which it had been drawn: the warmed chair.

Then his mind registered what he was seeing with... everything. Whoa. Being inexperienced in most everything to do with females, he didn't know if this sketch was a good thing or a bad thing... Which should it be? Oh, boy. He picked it up to turn it, studying the way she used shadowing techniques to make it look 3d.

He suddenly smiled and put the notepad back on the stack. He headed out to the barn without his shoes, but stopped himself from humming. He found her in the barn, still, as she tossed another bale of hay around.

"Good morning," she smiled.

"Morning." He shoved his hands into his jean pockets.

"You're up early,"

"I'm a light sleeper."

"Meaning you don't sleep much?"

"Meaning I wake easily,"

"Uh-hu. And what, prey tell, woke you this morning?"

"A certain artist,"

"An artist?" She raised her eyebrows at him.

"A certain artist I would like to pay a compliment to."

"Oh, really?"

"You're a wonderful artist, Whitney,"

She actually blushed as her eyelashes covered her eyes. The feeling of having been the cause of the blush made him swoon.

"Why do you say that?"

"You were the one in my room, not ten minutes ago."

"Oh...that. Well, I just did _that_ because I knew you wouldn't let me, even if I'd asked."

He raised his eyebrows. "So, you sketched a vivid picture of me to annoy me?"

"Precisely. Oh, and I'd like to go riding this morning."

Seth chuckled. Then he yawned.

"You should go get dressed." She said, jumping down from the raised platform. "You're supposed to be my body guard, remember?"

An hour later, Whitney and Seth were ready to go riding on Fire and Rose Marie. Jesse had taken his bicycle and headed on down the road to his best friend's house. Whitney had already mounted as she waited for Seth to finish up with his lead squad member. John nodded and said something else, then pointed out to the woods where they would be headed. Seth nodded, then motioned to the woods, too, then pointed to the map. John nodded again and walked away. Seth turned and headed toward her. He mounted Rose Marie and followed her into the woods. They were silent for a long while.

"Whitney?"

"Yes?"

"...Will you tell me about Aaron?"

She was quite for a long moment.

"I met him about nine years ago...He was a good flirt, and I was lonely," Her eyes were on the woods around them, even though Seth mentally begged her to look at him. The pain laced her voice, and even though he wanted—needed—to know who Aaron was, he knew it was hurting her. "I was afraid to get to know him...but he was very good at being there when I needed someone to talk to. I liked to think that I'd fallen in love with him...but I don't think I ever did. That's what he wanted, though, so I went along with it. But about the time he started realizing that we wouldn't work the way he wanted, I inherited the ranch. It was my mother's... she died,"

Seth only watched her. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head, then rushed to continue. "Aaron started to get frustrated with me, then with Jesse, then with everything. He... he slowly became violent. He never hit Jesse, though. I finally told him that I couldn't take him anymore and he left. He's called a few times every year. I don't think he's getting any better, though."

"You can't help him, Whitney. People like that have to find themselves by themselves."

"I know,"

Silence engulfed them again and Seth let it linger. She needed time to regroup and he needed time to think. The way she described it, Aaron seemed to have left her alone when she'd dumped him; he seemed to keep his distance. But he couldn't know that, not yet. He defiantly was not a welcome factor, to himself or to Whitt. He'd have to continue the background check when he got the chance. He might be better off to ask Marcus to do it...

"Whitney?"

Seth turned Rose Maria, started by the familiar voice.

"Hey, Quinn."

Quinn and Lisa were riding, too. They were separated by a line of trees, but the paths they were following collided only about a half mile.

"Meet you guys down the road?" Quinn asked through the trees.

"Yeah, sure." Whitney called back, and then slowly continued on the way they had been going.

Seth followed her. He had known that Quinn's ranch touched boarders with Whitney's, but somehow it had never crossed his mind that they might know each other. The half mile melted away. Quinn and Lisa were waiting for them when they got there.

"Kate said you had a new assignment," Lisa said. "Quinn didn't tell me it was our neighbor, though." She elbowed him as she spoke.

"I didn't know!" Quinn insisted.

"Seth told Kate. Kate would have told Marcus. Marcus would have told you or me! Come on, Quinn, you're messing up the family grapevine."

"Lisa... is this a bad thing?" Seth asked.

Lisa smiled at him. "Of course it's a bad thing. Then we can't know what you're up to."

Seth sighed. He looked to his other side to Whitney, his smile fading. She was scowling, focused on the woods to her left.

"Whitney?"

She was silent. Seth moved his horse next to hers, scanning the area. He hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary. The situation was wrong when she saw something and he didn't.

"Whitney? What do you see?"

"Nothing." The word was flat, and her eyes remained fixed on apparently nothing. "Nothing," She turned to him, forcing a small smile. "I just thought I saw something." She looked back to Quinn and Lisa. "You guys want to have lunch at my place? Jesse is back from camp. He was reading a romance novel his morning."

Quinn asked Lisa with his eyes and she nodded. "Sure. Thanks,"

Whitney nodded and led them back to her house.

_**-------------**_

I didn't get any reviews for the last chapter... Where'd everybody go?


	7. An O'Malley Problem: Chapter 6

**_An O'Malley Problem--Chapter 6_**

Seth knew Quinn and Lisa both were grilling him with their eyes to answer their questions about Whitney's silence and absentminded look.

Instead of confronting his sister and brother-in-law, Seth surveyed the area around them. It was pretty typical of what he'd seen of the woods so far.

Whitney's head stayed still, but her eyes darted around, searching the woods. _He_ was here._ He_ was watching her. Watching them. She'd lied to Seth and it probably wasn't the smartest choice.

Fire's behavior was not exactly the best, though. He was stopping suddenly, reacting to _him_ the way she'd taught him. Fire had always been her friend. He'd been forced into her troubles when he was barely old enough to be ridden, but he'd reacted like a true warrior.

Whitney knew _he_ wouldn't move from his hiding spot with Seth, Quinn and Lisa near her. But the mere fact that he'd kept his promise was enough to turn her stomach.

_Soon, sweetheart, we will hunt. _

Why did he still have to torture her? He needed help. Help.

It took too long for Whitney's comfort to get back to her ranch, but as she'd guessed, _he_'d not come out of hiding. They entered the barn just as the sun reached its peak in the sky.

"So why does she need a body guard?" Quinn asked Seth in hushed tones.

"She's being harassed by a stalker,"

"Not Slade?"

Seth turned, shocked that Quinn would know anything about Whitney's stalker.

"I've known her for a long time, Seth."

"What do you know about Slade?" Seth asked as he brushed Rose Marie down. Lisa and Whitney were near the other end of the stables, brushing down their own horses.

"He bothered her for a long time, about the same time Aaron wouldn't leave her alone."

"Was he dangerous?"

Quinn looked thoughtful for a moment. Seth wondered how much he was going to get out of him. "He was dangerous as far as Whitney's emotions. He liked to toy with her. Jesse hated him."

"How'd she get rid of him?"

"The same way she did Aaron: cut off all ties to him and block all the ways he could get in touch with her. Except Jesse socked Slade across the jaw. Slade in turn hit Jesse back and they ended up in a bloody fist fight. Whitney came home from somewhere—I don't remember where she'd gone—and found Jesse unconscious in the kitchen floor."

Seth was silent.

"What about Aaron? Tell me about him,"

"Aaron was a little quieter. He was lonely and Whitt was the perfect project for love. She was naïve and he took advantage of that. When he started getting violent, Whitney kicked him out. He's only talked to her a few times since."

"You said they were around about the same time?"

"She knew them both about the same time, but Slade got the boot first. She was wary of Aaron after that. If she hadn't kicked him out as soon as she did, he could have come to violence, too."

Seth looked over to where Whitney was. She put Fire into his stall, then laughed at something Lisa said.

She looked toward him and their eyes locked. She looked confused for a moment, then smiled and turned to walk back to her house, waving Lisa to follow.

"How'd she ever end up with such lousy friends?" Seth mumbled.

"I don't know, Seth."

Quinn and Seth followed Lisa and Whitney. "So how long have they known each other?" Seth motioned ahead?"

"Maybe a year and a half?" Quinn said.

"You know, despite the location, I never thought she might know you or Lisa... I don't know why I didn't look into that."

"Because she knocked you down and you forgot,"

Seth shook his head. "You are defiantly an O'Malley,"

Quinn smiled. They entered the house and Whitney turned form the counter to face them. "Tea or water?"

"Water," Seth said.

"Tea, please," Quinn said.

The four took their time in fixing sandwiches of their choice. They talked about trivial things and kept the conversation light.

Seth made mental notes as they talked. He now had two suspects for this talker: Aaron and Slade. He planned on asking Quinn about them both later, when Whitney wasn't around.

Lisa watched Seth become distant, just like Kate did. Something Quinn had said had bothered him. She made a note to ask both of them later.

Whitney still didn't feel safe, even in her own house. _He_ had proved many times that her house, her woods would not protect her. She knew that with the others around, he wouldn't come out, but she felt alone. Telling Seth the truth had never been so tempting. But she couldn't. Too many wounds would be opened again. Jesse was almost over it... she couldn't.

Quinn realized that Whitney and Seth were both drifting off into their own worlds. He wasn't happy that the stalker was back. But both Whitney and Jesse knew how to deal with him. After all, they both endured... Quinn shook his head to cut off the thought. He didn't like it. And the fact that Seth was attached to Whitney said something. If things turned out like they had last time... Maybe this should be upgraded to an O'Malley problem. He'd call Marcus later, even thought he'd already been by to check on things. Quinn now knew more; they were now better equipped to deal with this.

"So you didn't ask for a body guard or the security?" Lisa asked Whitney.

"No. Dad sent them. I've tried to convince him it's not necessary, but he won't listen,"

"You might consider the possibility that he's right," Quinn said as he joined them at the table. "It's a precaution and Seth is the best in his field."

"I don't need a body guard," Whitney said again. "If Dad wanted to help, he should have done it long ago,"

"So..." Seth said as he sat down next to Whitney. "We're back at square one."

She frowned at him.

"You know what I'm talking about."

Whitney seemed to search for the words to combat him. She found none, only took a bite of her sandwich.

Seth let it go.

----------

A few hours later, Quinn was standing on his front porch, listening to the phone ring. Lisa was inside, probably napping.

Marcus finally picked it up. Quinn could hear crying the back ground. Holly never stopped...

"I think Seth is going to need help" Quinn said softly.

"What's happened?" Marcus asked.

"Whitney isn't telling Seth what she knows about the stalker; he's walking blind. Her father is the one funding them and she'd trying to convince him to pull them out."

"She's trying to protect him? Why?"

"I think they've fallen for each other."

"Hmm... You think whoever this is, is too much for Seth to handle?"

"Yes."

Marcus covered the phone for a moment; Quinn could hear muffled voices.

"You know what Seth is facing?" Marcus asked as he came back.

"Not as much about him as Whitney knows."

"We're headed out to see Seth right now," Marcus said.

"Marcus, overwhelming her with numbers is not going to help. She'll just shut down."

"No, Kate—We're going over—Yes." Marcus's attention turned back again. "We'll be nice, promise."

"You'd better." Quinn said.

By the time he hung up, he wondered if it'd been right. It was wrong to leave Whitney and probably Jesse stranded in _his_ claws, but... had it been the right approach? _Lord, we're going to need a lot of guidance here._

**-----------**

**negotiator24**, thanks for your review. Which O'Malley story did you mean? There've been several since I posted the first chapter of mine.

**hgranger07, **The story is, sadly, coming to a close. I keep having to tell myself that I'm writing a fan fiction, not a novel!

**Tammi**, Thank you so much for reviewing! I hope things get better for you.

At this point, I would like to say thank you all so much! It's always amazing to have others follow a story to the end—so few do. This story will only have nine chapters, the epilogue included in #9. Thank you so much and I hope you enjoy it.


	8. Too Late: Chapter 7

**Too Late—Chapter 7 **

"What's going on?" Shari asked. She was leaning against the seat in front of her, where Dave sat.

"This doesn't look good," Dave said.

Marcus stopped the truck when one of Seth's guys stepped into the path and held up a hand. Marcus rolled down the window as the man came toward them.

"Can't let you past," John said. "Sorry, Marcus,"

"Why? What's going on?"

"Whitney has vanished. No one knows where. Seth ordered the entire area shut down until we find her."

"Missing? How? When?" Dave asked.

"Sometime last night. That's about all we know. The wires for four of the six security camera were cut. No new tire tracks, no obvious evidence of forced entry. She just vanished. Seth is upset."

Marcus had known that sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach had been a bad sign. Problem after problem had come up so that they'd arrived the next day, instead of the hours after Quinn had called.

Kate was pulling out her phone and dialing numbers. In a few moments, she had them cleared to go into the ranch. The first thing to draw their attention was Seth and Jesse. Jesse was sitting on the lowest step of the front porch and Seth was leaning on the railing, talking to him. Jesse looked up and shook his head. It looked like the boy was crying.

Dave helped Kate out of her seat. Holly squirmed around, demanding to be let down, but Kate held her tighter and whispered to her as they walked.

"Jesse, talk to me. This is serious; he could hurt her." Seth said.

"I told you everything I know," Jesse choked out. He _was_ crying.

"Seth, calm down," Marcus touched Seth's shoulder and he turned. "Clam down,"

"I have to find her,"

The raw emotion in Seth's voice said a lot. He was in love with her.

"Alright, when was she last seen?"

"I sent her to bed last night, about midnight. She was reading. I got up near six and went around to check on everything and she was gone."

"Was the security system breeched?"

"No,"

"Cameras were cut?"

"Yes."

"Which ones?"

"Along the south sides,"

"Cut where?" Dave asked.

"From inside." Seth said. Everyone was silent.

"Why would she leave?" Seth asked.

"To protect you," Marcus said, looking at Seth. "She's hiding the extent of the danger from you and pushing her father to withdraw your group. She's trying to protect you, Seth."

"There was a second kind of communication. He contacted her again; told her to leave," Seth voiced the realization as it hit him.

"Was the system turned off?"

"No,"

Seth turned. "Jesse,"

Jesse turned his head, crying, refusing to look at Seth.

"Jesse, did you reset the system after she left?"

He was silent.

"Start a search, counterclockwise through the woods." Seth said. He continued issuing orders, taking in reports for the next few minutes. Kate sat down next to Jesse, having handed Holly to her father. She had already called Rachel and Lisa and Quinn should be here anytime now. Stephen, Megan, Jack and Cassie were coming too. Quinn had been right; this was an O'Malley problem. Marcus circled his arm around Shari.

Jesse suddenly jumped up and ran into the house. Seth started to go after him, but Dave caught his arm.

"Let him go,"

"Boss," John called as he walked over. Seth turned. John handed him paper. It was a satellite image. There was a truck, not two miles into the woods from the ranch, along a road. "We're working on downloading the path it took here and back; it's not there now."

"Make it fast, John." Seth said.

"Seth?" He turned again. Jesse was standing on the porch, holding a piece of paper.

"I did reset the system after he came back. Whitney asked me to give you this,"

Seth took it gingerly. His hands shook, his heart pounded against his chest, as he opened it.

_Seth,_

_I asked you to leave and when you wouldn't I asked Dad to pull you out. Neither of you listened to me. Dad because he hasn't ever and you... _

_I wish you would have left. Now, when you find me gone, you'll feel obligated to come after me. Don't. Just go, Seth, just go away._

_Whitney _

Right above her name, something was marked out, not erased as it was in pen. There was also a stray mark on the bottom left corner, as if her hand had drifted across the paper just before she'd put the pen down. Seth stared through the marks above her name hard and for long seconds before realizing what it said. _I love you. _He looked up at Jesse.

"You made him mad, Seth," Jesse sobbed. "That's why he took her. You made him mad." Jesse sobbed into Kate's shoulder.

"Who is he, Jesse?" Seth kneeled next to the boy since he had collapsed, Kate still holding him while he cried.

Jesse sniffled. "Whitney called him Hawk. I don't know his name. I don't know what he asks her to do or what he does to her or anything. But I'm pretty sure he's the one who wrote the note she found."

"How long has he been around?" Dave asked.

"Sine I was nine, I guess... Whitney did was he told her because of me. Hawk said he'd kill me if she didn't. He had these three guys who would watch me when he took her away, and even when she was here. They never hurt me, but they weren't friendly, either."

"So this taking her away is not a first?" Seth asked.

Jesse shook his head. "No."

Seth stood. "I changed the security system when I got here. It's safe to assume he knew other old one, right—" Seth waited for Jesse to nod. "—But how would he know this one? And how would he know how to get around my guys?"

Silence lingered, interrupted only by the noise over Seth's radio and the shouts from the security searching the area.

"Boss, her horse is gone," the voice was broken over the radio as it came through.

"She took Fire with her a lot. I think he made her," Jesse said. "I don't know why,"

"Are any of the other horses missing?" Seth asked into the radio.

"Affirmative. One of the stallions, Dodge, I think,"

"Did Hawk take one of the horses here, too?" Seth asked Jesse.

"Sometimes," Jesse said. "He usually had a black stallion, though. I called him Blackheart because he was black and as mean and heartless as Hawk.

Seth put the radio back up to his mouth. "John, be looking for one or two horses, and find the time frames for when that truck got here and when it left,"

"I'm already on it,"

"He'll bring her back," Jesse said. Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at him. "He always brings her back after a few days,"

"He might not this time, Jesse. You said it yourself, Seth made him mad." Dave said.

"Marcus, can you find out where Aaron is right now? I want to eliminate him from our list."

"Got it," Marcus and Shari headed off toward the house.

"Mac," Seth said into his radio, "Get at least two men to keep an eye on Yuri and Wind. I want those background checks on both by the time the satellite images are available."

"Right,"

Quinn and Lisa arrived in the mess. Not long after, Jack, Cassie, Stephen and Megan made it to Whitney's ranch too.

Despite having started at dawn, Seth had little information he could use. The sun was near setting and he was stuck waiting on those images from space.

All he managed to do was pray. He couldn't handle it all on his own.


	9. Inside Aid: Chapter 8

_**Inside Aid—Chapter 8**_

All of Seth's family plus John was gathered in the den, the temporary headquarters. Dave and Quinn were manipulating the TV so it would play the satellite images. Marcus was working on a time line on the table. Rachel had taken Jesse to his room to help him with the turmoil. Kate was feeding Holly in one of the back bedrooms. Seth's group was still outside, looking.

Cole handed Seth the pad of paper he'd been writing on. It listed what they knew about the situation.

_Whitney is gone_

_Fire and Dodge are gone_

_The cameras on the south side are down_

_The south side faces the road where the truck was found by satellite_

_Aaron is in rehab, so he's not Hawk_

_The truck is not there now_

"What do you think, Cole?" Seth asked

"I think this Hawk had help, excluding Jesse resetting the system."

"Someone to either take the extra horse or drive the truck away, maybe even haven driven it here,"

"Exactly,"

"Either we get those images ready, play them and see who went where and when, or we find that inside contact."

"We might get both," Quinn said. "It's ready,"

Everyone turned to look at the TV. Jack hit the fast-forward button until they found movement. The image was choppy, in five-minute intervals, but they could see the truck as it came to a halt on the road.

Marcus noted the time on the timeline: 3:04 AM.

Then, at 3:15 AM, a figure got out of the truck and jumped across their map, through the woods, toward the ranch.

"He's in the ranch; 3:43 AM," Stephen said.

"Fast forward some, Jack," Seth said. Jack did, slowly.

"Stop!"

At first, all they could see was a black clump moving out away from the south entrance to the ranch house. Then, it separated, the larger part of the clump going toward the stables and the smaller part, a single person, going toward the general area of the truck.

Marcus noted the time they excited; 4:00 AM.

Then the larger lump was covered by the stable roof. The lone person continued toward the truck.

At 4:21 AM, two figures emerged from the stables, each bigger then a single person.

"There go the horses," Cassie said.

"They're headed southeast; 4:28 AM," Marcus said, noting the action and the time. The lone person reached the truck at 4:45 AM. The truck began moving in the opposite direction of the horses.

"Follow the truck first," Seth said. They followed the truck until it parked in an empty lot about four miles north of the ranch; 4:53 AM. The figure then excited and walked back the way he had just driven.

At 5:51 AM, he arrived back at the ranch, headed up the drive and gone in the back door.

"You were right, Cole. Where are those checks on Wind and Yuri?" Seth asked. John scrambled to provide them. Seth checked them as the others worked to back up the feed.

"We're following the horses now, Seth," Quinn said. Seth turned. The horses and their riders, presumably Hawk and Whitney, were moving slowly. By 6:31 AM, they had reached a small lodge, one that Seth had checked out when he'd gotten here. It was off Whitney's property and abandoned.

"Bring Jesse out here; I need to know if he knows anything about that lodge. Go ahead in the feed and see if they leave at any point," Seth said.

Shari went back to bring Jesse and Rachel out to join the others. Jack had fast-forwarded through the feed until it stopped—twenty minutes from the current time: 7:42 PM. Neither they, nor the horses had left that lodge. Seth felt a chill.

"Get guys out to that truck. We need to know who drove it. Since no one was in the house when I checked this morning that shouldn't have been, we have two possibilities: Wind or Yuri. One of them knew this would happen. Mac, where are Wind and Yuri right now?" Seth asked the last part into his radio. Mac relayed the information. Both men were in the stables, tending to the remaining horses.

"Keep an eye on them, and make sure they stay out of the way,"

"It will take time for anything they get from the truck to go through the lab," Lisa said.

"I know. Let's work on getting together a team to ambush that hunting lodge," Seth said.

------------------

Seth was bursting to break down the door in the lodge. Instead, he stood in the kitchen, fastening on his bullet proof vest. He, four of his guys and a few of his brothers made up the team that was going in. Kate was with them, too. Seth took in a deep breath. He was ready. Whitney needed him and he was not going to let her down.

Someone in the den cursed. "Seth, you might want to see this,"

Seth bolted back to the den, everyone on his heels.

"I just finished downloading the last hour and a half of satellite imagery," John said. "Take a look at this,"

He played it. Twenty-five minutes after 7:42, two figures had emerged from the lodge. They had walked—probably ran at the pace they made it through the woods—toward the ranch. The last frame they had was timed four minutes ago: 8:20 PM. It showed the two right outside the ranch house.

"Seth, don't!"

Marcus's call went unheeded. Seth bolted out the back door, into the fading sunlight. He flew down the steps and stopped.

He could have cried but he didn't.

The first thing that he took in was Whitney. She was bruised and tired looking, tears streaking her cheeks and her eyes glossy. She held a hand pistol up, toward Seth. It was cocked and loaded.

--------

**Tammi**, thank you so much for your review! To answer your question about Quinn: Since I altered the locations for each sibling—putting them all in one unspecified location—I figured that since Quinn and Whitney's ranches share boarders they should be old friends. It's been a while since I read the _Truth Seeker_, so I can't say exactly how long they might have known each other, but it's long enough that Whitney's situation is not unfamiliar to Quinn.

Unfortunately, Whitney doesn't want a lot of the information about the stalker known to the public, so not much about him is revealed. There is some—it's in the epilogue in the next chapter.

I'm actually looking for a new book series to read right now. If you have any suggestions, I'd appreciate them.


	10. Gunned Down: Chapter 9 & Epilogue

_**Gunned Down—Chapter 9**_

A tall man stood off to her right, back away from the scene. He was wearing black, so Seth couldn't see much of him, but he knew it was Hawk. Seth turned back to Whitney and the gun that was trained on him.

He heard guns being pulled from behind him. "Don't shoot her!" Seth shouted without looking back. Whitney was shaking, from the cold and her tears and the trauma.

"Put it down, Whitney," Quinn said.

Her eyes drifted to Quinn. "I can't," she mumbled.

"Shoot him," Hawk said. "Shoot him, Whitney,"

Her body trembled even more at the thought. Even if she had the heart to shoot, she'd miss. Seth's eyes pleaded with her, begging her to not shot. But also in his eyes was understanding. Whitney got the strange feeling that Seth would want her to shot him if it meant Jesse's life.

"Remember Jesse, Whitney. Shoot him."

"Jesse is safe, Whitney. He's safe," Seth said. Whitney looked back toward where Hawk stood.

"Do not just stand there! Shoot him, now! Or Jesse will pay for your mistake."

Whitney's mind spun around. She turned back to Seth. She couldn't shoot him. She'd die first. She needed them both to be safe, but she didn't know how. All Hawk had to do was send the signal and Yuri would kill Jesse. Seth wouldn't expect an attack from the inside. She had taken pity on Yuri before, even though she'd known it hadn't been wise. Now he was against her again.

But how to end this with both Jesse and Seth safe? If only they were alive, then they would take care of each other.

Then it clicked. And she knew. She knew what had to be done. Another tear rolled down her cheek as she thought about how much she'd miss them both.

She felt her lips curve up in a slight smile, then she bent down and put the gun on the ground. Quinn and the others behind Seth lowered theirs too. She knew by the shocked look in Quinn's eyes when he lowered his gun that he knew what she planned to do. He'd miss her too; they'd been friends for so long.

"No." Whitney said, turning back to Hawk. "No,"

"Then suffer the consequences,"

Time slowed.

Seth couldn't make it to Whitney in time and he knew it. He could almost see the bullet fly threw the air.

"Take care of Jesse for me," she mumbled, then her eyes closed against the bullet as it ripped through the air.

Her body jerked with the impact of the bullet. She collapsed to the ground. Seth heard shouts, saw blurs as Hawk ran and others gave chase.

Stephen led Megan to Whitney and they got there before Seth.

"Don't let Seth over here," Stephen yelled.

He felt someone hold him back, but he didn't turn to see who. He shoved off and away so that he made it to Whitney and collapsed next to her.

The first look at her told him that she was dead.

He thought about all the times they'd never get together; the future they had yet to make. The few memories he had of her.

Shouts still echoed and Seth heard another gunshot, but he couldn't rake his eyes off Whitney's still face. She looked pained. Choking on a sob, he saw the bruise on her neck from his nightmare that night so long ago.

Then she breathed and Seth was jerked out of his daze.

She was alive. The tears poured from his eyes as she took in another small and shaky breath. She was alive.

--------------

Whitney opened her eyes, forcing them open despite her tiredness, pain and the bright lights.

_Well, at least I'm alive..._

"Barely,"

Then the shape that had been a blob above her took a familiar form. Seth was leaning over her, smiling. His eye lashes were dripping with tears, stuck to his skin in clumps.

_Thanks for your confidence,_

"I'll ask what you just said later, when you can talk, okay?" he asked. "You've been asleep for about a day now. Megan and Stephen stopped the wound from gushing blood; the doctors think you'll live. Jesse is safe and we caught Hawk. I _almost_—only _almost_—feel sorry for the guy. They led him back to the ranch just as the police got there. He had a broken nose. Quinn was awfully proud of that."

She tried to smile, but didn't have the energy. Seth gave her another crooked smile.

"Rest, sweetheart, just rest," Seth's touch on her forehead was light, but that was all it took to send her back to sleep.

**Epilogue**

Whitney was released from the hospital about two weeks after Hawk shot her. The bullet had gone into her abdomen, barely missing vitals, but hitting a blood vessel. She was fully recovered after three and a half months. She did tell Seth what 'we will hunt' means but that secret is kept between them.

Hawk aka Slade was given a life prison sentence for numerous crimes, including stalking, kidnapping and shooting Whitney. Yuri, Whitney's ranch hand, was a known accomplice to Hawk even before this incident. When Whitney threw Slade out the first time around, she didn't have the heart to toss out Yuri because he had no where else to go. She let him stay on and she thought he'd changed. Yuri received a twenty years sentence for aid in kidnapping among other charges Whitney had no idea about.

Wind, however, remained loyal to Whitney, as he always had been.

Six months after her recovery, Whitney and Seth eloped, despite the odds his family presented against it. They returned after a_ long_ time to Whitney's ranch and soon after, Jesse went back to school.

Aaron stayed in rehab for nearly two years, but when he was released, he was a new person. Despite his new self, he had little contact with Whitney. He called her about three years after the shooting to tell her he was looking at a Western sunset and thinking how much she'd like to see it. She never heard from him again.

Tragically, Whitney and Seth's first baby was still born. They named him Tristan. Four years later though, a healthy baby girl was born. They named her Sabine.

---------

I love this story. I don't know about you all, but I've really enjoyed it. I do think it could be a little smoother and a little slower, but I still love it.

**goblz**,** potostfbeyeluvr**, **jilyn90**, **Tammi**, **stephannie teresa**, **Karmen Krowe**, **kate**, **negotiator24**, and **hgranger07**—Thank you all so, so, so much for reviewing! Considering the number of stories for the O'Malley series, I'm so amazed that so many of you took the time to read.

**Tammi**, thank you for the series suggestion—I will look into it. I hope thing get better for you.

Thank you also to anyone who has just read this story. I know there are a few. Thanks.

DreamWeaver010


End file.
